Gas lighting and extinguishing apparatus.



A. G. KENT-JOHNSTON.

GAs LIGHTING AND EXTINGUISHING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED IEB.10,1914

1,107,962, I Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY THE AORRls PETERS CO.. PHOTOVLITHOH WASHINGTON. D, C.

A. G. KENT-JOHNSTON. I GAS LIGHTING AND EXTINGUISHING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 10, 1914.

1,107,962. a ented Aug. 18, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES INVENTUR ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS ca, PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGION u. c.

A. G. KENT-JOHNSTON.

GAS LIGHTING AND EXTINGUISHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED PER. 10, 1914.

1 1 07,962. Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

3 SH BETSSHEET 3.

I N V E N TOR fie 7mm 6500295 flip/00mm ATTORNEY THE [\ORRIS PETERS CO.PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, D. C.

ARTHUR GEORGE KENT-JOHNSTON,

OF BALHAM, LONDON, ENGLAND.

GAS LIGHTING AND EXTINGUISHING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

Application filed February 10, 1914. Serial N 0. 817,813.

To all whom it may concern:

it known that I, ARTHUR GEORGE KENT- JoirNs'roN, a subject of the Kingof Great eldon, S. W., England, have invented certain new andusefullmprovements in Gas Lighting and Extinguishing Apparatus, of whichthe following 1s a specificatlon.

This invention relates to gas lighting and extinguishing apparatus andparticularly to apparatus of the type in which a pressure sensitivemember such as a diaphragm or' nor that not only is the apparatusconsequently rendered operable by a much smaller pressure increase butalso rendered more reliable in action than hitherto.

The invention consists in an apparatus of the above type in which avalve ope'neddun ing the initial movement of the pressure sensitivemember permits the gas in the compartment remote from the gas mains tobe displaced into a conduit which is so situated with respect to themain and by-pass burners that the issuing gas is ignited, and therebyutilized to prevent extinction of both burners through either havingbeen extinguished before the other is ignited.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a centralvertical section of an apparatus according to the present invention, thevalve mechanism, however, being shown in outside elevation; Fig. 2 is arear View, and Fig. 3 a side view of the valve mechanism shown in Fig.1, while Fig. 4. is a central vertical section of a modifiedconstruction of the apparatus. Figs. 5 and 6 are views showing the valvemechanism in two different positions, and Fig. 7 a plan of the bodymember of the apparatus with all the upper mechanism and parts removed.

In carrying the invention into effect according to the constructionshown in Figs. 1,2 and 3, a body member, 1, is provided Britain andIreland, and residing at Glen-. Thurlcigh Road, Balham, London,-

with an upwardly extending cylindrical wall, 2, which co-acts with theinner surface of a casing, 3, to form an annular space, 1, into which aliquid, preferably mercury, is introduced through an inlet, 5, so as toform a seal for a bell, 6, dividing the space Within said casing intotwo compartments, 7 and 8. Into the latter of these gas from the mainsis admitted through an opening, 9, and passes from the compartment, 8,into the compartment, 7, by way of a small orifice, 10, in the bell, 6,this orifice being of such dimensions as to render the bell sensitiveonly to sudden increases of pressure in the gas mains, but remainuninfluenced by a gradual increase of pressure. Attached to the hell, 6,by a nut, 11, is a spindle 12, which passes freely through a cross bar,13, supportedon two vertical pillars, 14. At its lower end the spindle,12, carries a cross bar, 15, through the extremities of which the twopillars, 14, pass, and thereby serve as guides when the bell, 6, movesvertically, while surrounding the spindle, 12, is a sleeve, 16, which ismovable relatively to the spindle, 12, and is guided by cross bars, 17and 18, through which the pillars, 14, also pass. The lower cross bar,18, is maintained a short distance above a base plate, 19, by anadjustable screw, 20 in order thereby to provide a suitable clearancebetween'the cross bars, 15 and 18, and so prevent accidental operationof the apparatus through vibration or other like causes. The upper crossbar, 17, carries a pawl, 21 (see Figs. 2 and 3) adapted to engage inturn with each of eight teeth on a ratchet wheel, 22, which is connectedby a shaft, 23 (see Fig. 3) to the disk, 24:, of a disk valve by whichthejsupply of gas to a main and a by-pass burner is controlled. As shownin Fig. 2 the disk 24 contains four equi-distant holes, 25, and by meansof aspring, 26, is pressed against the stationary valve part 27' on theface of which there terminate two passages, 28 and 29, in such aposition that when, as the result of successlve upward movements of thebell 6, the disk 24 is rotated by engagement of the pawl 21 with theratchet wheel 22, the'passages, 28 and 29, shall be alternately placedin communication with the compartment 8 within the bell. The passage 28is continued through the body member 1 of the apparatus to a conduit,30, by which the gas passes to the main burner, While the other passage,29, communicates in a similar way with the conduit, 31, conveying gas tothe by-pass burner. For the purpose of enabling the disk valve to beoperated independently of the gas pressure, a projecting rod, 32 on thecross bar, 18, {see Fig. 3) enables the sleeve, 16, and the pawl, 21,carried thereby, to be moved upward by the inward movement of a rod, 33,accessible from the exterior of the ap aratus. On the upper side of thebell, (3, there is attached to the nut, 11, by means of a pin, 84;,shown in Fig. 8, a pawl, 35, having a screw, 36, by which the positionof a ledge 37 and an arm 38 on the pawl can be adjusted relatively to ahollow spindle 89. The passage through the latter to inmates intransverse pass below the surface of contact of the movable part 4-0 ofa valve with its seating 41, so that when the valve is open gas passesfrom the compartment 7 to a chamber By contacting with the arm 38 of thepawl conical surface 43 at the lower end of the seating 4;]. causes thepawl 35 to be disenga ed from the valve spindle 89, thereby allowing thevalve to close by gravity and shut off communication between thecompartment 7 and the chamber l2. A conduit it connects the chamber 4-2with the conduit 21 through which gas normally passes to the by-passburner. By means of a pipe 45 the compartment 7 is placed incon'uminication with a capacity chamber 46 formed by the cooperation ofan outer vessel 47 and an inner concentric vessel 4:8 with a.

liquid seal 49. A. removable plate or window 50 by which the inside ofthe apparatus can be inspected, and a removable plug 51 for relievingthe pressure in the chamber 7 are also provided. When an apparatus thusconstructed is in operation a change of the pressure in the mains has noeffect on the hell 6 if the change is so gradual that the pressures inthe compartments 7 and 8 can become equal. On the other hand, if thechange of pressure is sudden, as when. it is desired to extinguish oneburner and ignite the other, a difference of pressure is establishedbetween the coi'npartments, 7 and 8, with the result that the bell 6moves upward, the resistance to this movement being greatly reduced byvirtue of the capacity chamber 46 and the consequent change in the levelof the liquid therein. As a result the ledge 37 of the pawl 35 comesinto contactwith the valve spindle 39, and then lifts the valve 4-.0 offits seat. The pressure within the compartment 7 is at once relieved andthe gas allowed to pass through the conduit all to the by-pass burner,where it is ignited by the flame from the brukner which is then lighted.By the continued upward movement of the bell 6 the sleeve 16 causes thepawl 21 to rotate the ratchet wheel 22 through. one-eighth of arevolution. The supply of gas is thereby changed over from one burner tothe other, but as the temporary flame of the gas escaping from thecompartment '1' exists at this moment it prevents failure of theapparatus through the one burner being extinguished before the other hasbeen ignited. On the arm 38 of the pawl 35, however, coming into contactwith the conical surface l8, the pawl is disengaged from the valvespindle with the result that the valve 40 closes by gravity, after whichthe hell (2 gradually sinlrs as a result of the pressures of the gas inthe compartments 7 and 8 becoming equalized by virtue of thcommunicating orifice 10.

JV hen an apparatus of this kind is to be employed for the purpose ofcontrolling the supply of gas to more than one main burner, it ismodified as shown in Figs. i, 5, 6 and 7, in the case where the gas isbeing supplied to two main burners, the apparatus being substantiallysimilar to that already described, with the exception of the valvemechanism. This consists in a disk valve, the disk 52 of which isrotated as before by engagement of a pawl 53, in this case directly caried by the spindle 12, with a ratchet wheel 54;. The disk 59, andratchet wheel. are situated, however, on the same side of the stationaryvalve part 27, the disk beingcut away so as to leave two quadrants andthe ratchet wheel having six teeth. 'llerminating on the face of thevalve part 27 are three passages, 55, 56 and 57. Of these the passage 55extends through the body member 1, as shown in 7, to the conduit 58, bywhich gas is supplied to one of the main burners, while the passage 56similarly leads to the conduit 59 of the other main burner. Theremaining passage 5? is that by which gas is conducted to the conduit 60of the by-aass burner. The result of three consecutive upward movementsof the bell 6 is illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, in the first of whichthe valve disk is in the position in which gas can pass through bothpassages 55 and 56 to the two main burners, the bypass passage 57 beingclosed. In 5, the passage 56 has been closed by rotation of the disks52, so that gas can only flow to the main burner through the passage 55and to the bypass burner through the passage 57, while in 6 bothpassages 55 and 56 have been. closed, and gas can only flow by way ofthe passage 57 to the by-pass burner. In this case the by-pass conduit60 is divided into two branch conduits 61, leadtothe by-pass burners ofthe two main burners. while the conduit l-l branches into the conduit 60in such. a position that the gas escaping from the compartment 7 isconducted to both the bypass burners. In this way the production of aflame at the time when the supply of gas is being changed over from oneburner to another insures that the corresponding bypass or main burnershall be ignited, and therefore avoids the modified form of the Ytherein risk of'failure through one burner being extinguished beforeignition of the other has taken place. A capacity chamber is alsopreferably employed in connection with this apparatus.

It will beseen that the invention may be applied to cases where theapparatus is adapted to control the supply of gas to a cluster ofburners, any one or more of which may require to be extinguished at willand their by-passes left burning.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. Gas lighting and extinguishing apparatuscomprising in combination a casing, a pressure-sensitive member dividingthe space into two compartments, to one of which gas is admitted andpasses therefrom through a small orifice into the other compartment,main and by-pass burners, valve means operated by said pressure memberto control the supply of gas to the burners, a relief valve preventingexcessive gas compression in the compartment remote from the gas inletduring initial movement of the pressure member, and means by which thegas passing through said relief valve is utilized to prevent failure ofthe apparatus through one of the burners being accidentally extinguishedbefore its corresponding bypass has been ignited, and through a bypassbeing extinguished before its correspending main burner has beenignited.

2. Gas lighting and extinguishing apparatus comprising in combinationmainv and bypass burners, a casing, a pressure-sensitive member dividingthe space therein into two compartments, gas inlet means to one of saidcompartments and a communicating orifice admitting said gas into theother compartment, valve means ope ated by said pressure member tocontrol the supply of gas to the burners, a capacity chamber incommunication with the compartment on the side of the pressure memberremote from the gas inlet mains, a relief valve preventing excessive gascompression in the latter compartment during initial movement of thepressure member, and means by which the gas passing through said reliefvalve is utilized to prevent failure of the apparatus through one of theburners being accidentally extinguished before its corresponding by-passhas been ignited, and conversely.

3. Gas lighting and extinguishing apparatus comprising in combinationmain and by-pass burners, a casing, a pressure-sensitive member dividingthe space therein into two compartments, inlet means admitting gas toone of said compartments and a small orifice allowing said gas to passgradually into the other compartment, valve means operated by saidpressure member to control the supply of gas to the burners, a gravitycompartment on the closed valve adaptedto relieve the pressure of thegas in the compartment remote from the inlet means during movement ofthe pressure member, a one-way connection between said pressure memberand the gravity-1 burner and a by-pass burner, a casing divided into twocompartments by a liquid sealed bell, inlet means admitting gas to thecompartment within said bell, a small orifice in the bell permitting thegas to pass gradually into the compartment exterior to the bell, valvemeans connected to said bell to control the supply ofgas to the main andto the by-pass burner, a gravity closed valve adapted to permit escapeofgas from the exterior of the bell, a one-way connection carried bysaid bell and engaging with said valve during the initial movement ofthe bell, and a conduit by which the gas passing through said valve isconducted to the by-pa'ss burner whereby, on the supply of gas beingchanged over from one burner to the other, failure of the device isprevented through one of the burners being accidentally extinguishedbefore the other is ignited.

5. Gas lighting and extinguishing apparatus comprising in combination amain burner and a by-pass burner, a casing, a liquid sealed belldividing the space therein into two compartments, inlet means admittinggas to the compartment within the bell, and an orifice in the bellthrough which the gas is permitted to pass gradually into thecompartment exterior to the bell, a capacity chamber in communicationwith the latter compartment within the casing, a disk valve controllingthe supply of gas to both burners, and means by which said valve isoperated during the upward movement of the bell, a relief valve openedby the bell during upward movement thereof to prevent excessive gascompression in the compartment exterior to the bell, and a conduit bywhich the escaping gas is conducted to a bypass burner in order therebyto provide a flame which shall prevent failure of the apparatus throughone burner being accidentally extinguished before the other is ignitedwhen the supply of gas is being changed over from one burner to theother.

6. Gas lighting and extinguishing apparatus comprising in combination amain burner and a by-pass burner, a casing, a liquid sealed belldividing said easing into two compartments, inlet means admitting gas tothe compartment within the bell, a small orifice in the bell permittingsuch gas to pass gradually into the compartment above the bell, a diskvalve controlling the supply of gas to both burners, connecting meansbetween said valve and the bell by which successive upward movements ofthe latter due to sudden pressure increases of; the gas cause the gas tobe supplied to the burners alternatel a valve relievin the pressure ofthe gas in the compartment above the bell during upward movement of thelatter, a cne-way connection carried by said bell to engage with thevalve during upward movement of the bell, and a conduit by which the gaspassing through said valve is conducted to the bypass burner.

7. Gas lighting and extinguishing apparatus comprising in combination amain burner and a bypass burner, a casing, a liquid sealed bell dividingsaid easing into two compartments, inlet means admitting gas to thecompartment within the bell, a small orifice in the bell permitting suchgas to pass gradually into the compartment above the bell, a disk valvecontrolling the supply of gas to both burners, connecting means betweensaid valve and the bell by which successive upward movements of thelatter due to sudden pressure increases of the gas cause the gas to besupplied to theburners alternately, means by which said disk valve canbe operated from the exterior of the apparatus independently of the gaspressure, a valve relieving the pressure of the gas in the compartmentabove the bell during upward movement of the latter, a one-wayconnection carried by said bell to engage with the valve during upwardmove ment of the bell, and a conduit by which the Copies of this patentmaybe obtained for gas passing through said valve is conducted to theby-pass burner.

8. Gas lighting and extinguishing apparatus comprising in combination aplurality of main burners and a plurality of by-pass burners, a casing,a liquid sealed bell dividing the space within said casing into twocompartments, inlet means admitting gas to the compartment within thebell, a small orifice in the bell permitting said gas to pass into thecompartment above the bell, a disk valve controlling the supply of gasto all the burners, connecting means between said valve and the bell bywhich the former is enabled to shut oii the supply of gas to the mainburners consecutively with successive increases in the gas pressure,while simultaneously admitting gas to the corresponding by-pass burners,a relief valve preventing excessive compression of the gas in thecompartment above the bell during the upward movement of the latter, aoneway connection between the bell and said valve, and a conduitconducting the gas passing through said valve to the by-pass burners,whereby there is provided a flame of gas preventing accidental failureof the apparatus ateach upward movement of the bell.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR GEORGE KENT-JOHNSTON.

lVitnesses DANIEL D. Barns, P. A. OUTHWAITE.

Washington D. C.

